Flag of Minnesota

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The current Flag of the State of Minnesota

The Flag of the State of Minnesota consists of the state seal charged on a medium blue background. The current flag was adopted in 1957 and the state seal in the flag was modified in 1983.

Flag Design

Photo of the state flag under a US flag

The first flag of the state of Minnesota was adopted in 1893. That flag was created by Pauline Fjelde via commission of designer, Amelia Hyde Center of Minneapolis.[1] That flag was white on front and light blue on the back. In the center was the state seal wreathed with white moccasin flowers, on a blue ground. A red ribbon in the seal bore a motto, L'étoile du nord (French for "The North star"). The years 1819 (establishment of Fort Snelling), 1858 (statehood) and 1893 (adoption of the first state flag) appeared in gold around the state seal. Minnesota was written under the state seal in gold and 19 gold stars arranged in clusters to form the points a star, representing the fact that Minnesota was the 19th state added after the original 13 states. 87 circles around the seal represent Minnesota's 87 counties. The flag was redesigned in 1957 due to an error of the flowers used on the seal. Instead of a Pink and White Lady's Slipper, it showed a variant that was not native to the state.[2] The Minnesota flag has come under increasing criticism both for its poor design and its image in the seal of a farmer with his gun watching a Native American flee the land, which many feel is a depiction of Manifest Destiny and the inevitability of land being procured by white settlers.[3]

Official statute

The law creating the 1957 state flag is located in Chapter 1 of the Official State Statutes. The chapter covers state symbols, sovereignty and other general issues. The location of the flag in the statutes is Section 1.141. The statute also mandates for the Secretary of State to keep a photograph of the official state flag and samples so they can be used by the public to make copies.[4] In Minnesota, desecreation of the state flag is a misdemeanor offense under State Statute 609.40.

New flag proposals

Proposed "North Star" Flag

Since 1989, several efforts have been made to redesign the Minnesota flag — most notably the North Star Flag campaign. The North American Vexillological Association (NAVA), in its 2001 survey of United States and Canadian state, provincial, and territorial flags rated the current Minnesota flag 67th out of 72 flags evaluated.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ State Symbols (Minnesota House of Representatives Information Service)[1]
  2. ^ "The State Flag of Minnesota". Minnesota State Mankato. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
  3. ^ "Native Americans and State Flag Designs". Marcel Stratton, Assoc. Prof. Emeritus in Art; Minnesota State University Moorhead. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
  4. ^ "1.141 OFFICIAL STATE FLAG". State of Minnesota. 2006. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
  5. ^ Kaye, Ted (2001-06-10). "NEW MEXICO TOPS STATE/PROVINCIAL FLAGS SURVEY, GEORGIA LOSES BY WIDE MARGIN". North American Vexillological Association. Retrieved 2007-10-07.

External links

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